MESHCOLA

So, you have a remote Meshtastic node you need to reconfigure—but the idea of trekking over to physically connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or serial isn’t appealing. Wouldn’t it be great if you could do it all remotely through LoRa using a second node? Good news: you’re about to learn how to set up remote configuration and make node management simpler.

Step 1: Get Your Nodes and Connections Ready

To enable remote administration, you’ll need two nodes:

• Admin Node: This is the local node you’ll use to connect and send remote configuration commands.
• Remote Node: This is the node you wish to configure remotely.

To get started, ensure both nodes are running Meshtastic firmware version 2.5.0 or higher. Additionally, go to the “User” settings and make sure the “Licensed Amateur Radio” toggle is off on both nodes; when enabled, this toggle disables encryption, which is essential for secure remote administration.

Step 2: Exchange Public Keys for Secure Access

With both nodes ready, you’ll need to set up secure communication by sharing public keys:

1. Admin Node: Connect to the admin node via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or serial and open the “Security” configuration. Copy the Public Key (always keep your Private Key secret). If you’re on a phone, make sure you select the entire string. Sometimes when your press-and-hold to select the string, the equals sign at the end isn’t selected.
2. Remote Node: Connect to your remote node and navigate to its “Security” configuration. Under the “Admin Key” section, click “Add” and paste the public key from your admin node into one of the available admin key slots. This step allows the remote node to recognize the admin node as an authorized source for remote commands. You can add up to three admin keys for additional authorized nodes if desired.

After saving the settings, you’re nearly there!

Step 3: Test the Remote Administration Setup

To verify everything is working, connect to your admin node using a phone or computer and open the node list. Tap the short name of the remote node you just configured, select “More details,” and look for the “Remote Administration” option toward the bottom. When you select it, you should be able to access any of the remote node’s config pages. If all goes smoothly, you’re set up correctly!